By BOBBIE GREEN
The Progress
There was a roar of life in the parking lot at the Virgin Valley Food Bank in Mesquite on Oct. 16, as about 20 Kokopelli ATV club members rumbled to a stop on their all-terrain vehicles.
The members of the Kokopelli ATV Club were donating to the food bank on Second South Street for the fourth consecutive year. This year, instead of supplying canned goods, the club presented a check for $3,500 to the food bank.
The group gathered around as club Treasurer Lisa Kowallweki handed over the check to Virgin Valley Food Bank Directors Glades Smith and Leslie Montgomery.
“We are thankful for your faithful support to the food bank,” Montgomery told the group. “We are earmarking the generous donation to purchase 150 Thanksgiving dinners that we will be distributing on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving to our registered families.”
Kokopelli Club member Ron Parr originally came up with the idea for the club to donate to the Virgin Valley food bank in 2019. The amount raised for donation has increased every year since then.
ATV Club President Dominic Oliveto said, “We raise this money by selling raffle tickets at our meetings. I am really happy today. This is the most money we have raised for the food bank.”
The Kokopelli Club does more than just raise dust with their ATVs. This year, they have also donated to the Vietnam Veterans Association and to the Arizona Search & Rescue Team. Many Kokopelli club members are veterans themselves. The Arizona Seach & Rescue Team is always on call to assist off-roaders.
“We normally donate only to two charities per year,” Oliveto said. “The other one is the Shop-with-a-Cop program.”
